Gartner defines data loss prevention (DLP) as a technical control designed to prevent data loss in order to comply with personal data regulations, prevent unintended disclosure, minimize insider risk and ensure that sensitive data is not overly accessible. DLP controls are typically applied to reduce the data risk for two states of unstructured data: data at rest and data in motion. Depending on the state of the data, DLP applies detective, preventive or corrective controls, including alerting, quarantining, blocking, redaction or access restriction.
Employee productivity monitoring software uses automated data collection, analytics as well as logs from applications, calendars, etc. to report on employees’ activities, time spent, work locations and work patterns. It can provide insights into when employees are working and what work is being done. Insights thus generated from employee productivity monitoring can support efforts to improve organizational effectiveness, employee experience, worker well-being and working-time compliance. This software also creates detailed reports on the collected data that helps employees manage their workload for optimum results and managers to measure employee performance.
Gartner defines the insider risk management (IRM) market as solutions that use advanced analytics, monitoring, and behavior-based risk models to detect, analyze and mitigate risks posed by trusted insiders within an organization. These solutions monitor the activities of employees, service partners and key suppliers to ensure their behavior aligns with corporate policies and risk tolerance levels. IRM platforms can be delivered as cloud-based services or on-premises solutions, or in hybrid forms. When effectively implemented alongside proper governance, they provide comprehensive visibility, real-time detection, and proactive intervention to safeguard against data theft, fraud and other malicious or unintentional insider threat activities.
Removable media security refers to set of policies, technologies and best practices to protect data and systems from the risk associated with portable storage devices. These devices, known as removable media, include USB flash drives, External hard drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), memory cards, smartphones and tablets etc. Removable media security prevents data breaches and malware infections by controlling and monitoring the use of USB drives, external disks, and other portable devices within an organization. This proactive protection helps maintain regulatory compliance, offers peace of mind through detailed audit trails, and reduces the risk of costly downtime or data loss due to unsafe media usage. This security framework includes access restrictions, mandatory encryption, malware scanning, and ongoing user education to prevent costly breaches or compliance violations. In enterprise settings, it is crucial for employees, IT staff, contractors, and vendors who routinely transfer, back up, or share sensitive business data using removable devices. These users are required to comply with security protocols to keep corporate networks and confidential information safe. Typical features include data encryption, device control and malware scanning.